A Taste of Midnight 4 - Santa Claus is Stalking the Town
by SummerAtMidnight
Summary: Midnight takes a break from Chicago in the hopes that she can keep her friends out of danger for a while. Unfortunately, when she heads to New York to check on another Court she walks straight into the middle of an alien invasion. She tried to keep her distance but S.H.E.I.L.D have other ideas because it's nearly Christmas and Santa is on his way.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

Midnight had been alive a long time and she had been dead even longer than that. She'd seen a lot of weird shit in those years but this definitely took the cake. After deciding to leave Chicago for a while, she travelled to New York to check on another Court. Midnight was worried that she was bringing nothing but pain and misery to the people she was supposed to be protecting. She had gone to New York for a break and strolled into the middle of a real life alien invasion. But these aliens weren't the cute and fuzzy kind, these guys meant Business with a capital B.

Midnight had managed to avoid the worst of the fighting and meet up with the Vampire Court she had come to see. The undead population of New York had been prepared to step in to protect their own kind and their food source but it proved unnecessary. A group of super heroes called The Avengers had saved the day. Midnight liked the name, short and to the point. She had hidden in the shadows and watched them work, they didn't do too badly for a bunch of humans. The one called Ironman had a big mouth but he had taken that nuke away from the planet, seemingly without a thought for himself. Captain America looked like the Statue of Liberty's pimp but his shield packed quite a wallop.

Thor and Hulk were pretty scary even to Midnight but she watched the one's called Hawkeye and Black Widow with more interest. They seemed to be one hundred per cent human but they always got up when something threw them down. Midnight took to the shadows as the battle wound down and the clean-up began. She returned to the park when The Avengers met once again to see off Thor and his murderous little brother. Midnight leaned against a tree and watched as they shook hands, laughed and went their separate ways.

To her surprise, Loki's head turned in her direction. Midnight couldn't really tell because of the muzzle he was wearing, but she felt a cold shiver slip down her spine as she realized the God of Mischief and Lies was smiling right at her. He winked and then he and Thor were gone. Just before someone jumped Midnight from behind and knocked her out, she had about half a second to wonder if she were getting too old for this shit.

After being tasered, knocked unconscious and dropped in what looked like a giant glass jar, Midnight groaned and stood up. She turned in a full circle until she noticed The Avengers and a tall man with dark skin and an eye patch standing infront of a bank of controls. She raised an eyebrow and bowed deeply before folding her arms across her chest and waiting. The man with the eye patch walked towards the glass and stopped about three feet from the giant jar, he cleared his throat.

"You're Midnight" he said, it wasn't a question. Director Nick Fury stared at their guest and tried not to let his surprise show on his normally wooden face. He didn't know who he was expecting but this girl was certainly not it. She didn't look more then nineteen, very slightly built and skin so pale she was almost transparent. Midnight wore knee high boots with ridiculously high heels, a black mesh skirt that hung to her ankles and a long black duster with a white tee underneath. Her white blonde hair was cut into a sharp bob with two electric blue streaks to frame her face. Fury raised his own eyebrow and decided to test his information.

"I believe you know The Avengers?"

"Not personally, but I love your work. Loving the name too, very nice" replied Midnight. Fury introduced the others around him before turning to the assembled team and gesturing towards the jar.

"This is Midnight. She's a vampire." There was a moment of silence before Tony Stark snorted with laughter. Midnight raised her eyebrow and tilted her head to one side, she looked a little like a cat that had just spotted an interesting mouse.

"A vampire? You might wanna loosen your patch, Fury. I think your brain's being starved of much needed oxygen." As he spoke, Stark walked up the steps and almost pressed his face against the glass of Midnight's cage. She covered her face for a moment, and then she was crouched on the glass right infront of Tony Stark. Her golden eyes flashed yellow and her fangs snapped as she clawed at the glass. Stark jumped backwards and almost tripped over his own feet trying to get away. The other Avengers had automatically drawn their weapons despite the fact it was probably impossible for Midnight to escape her prison. A sound echoed around the room that nobody had heard before. Director Fury was laughing.

"Linnea told me you were visiting" he said, wiping the tears from his good eye. Midnight straightened up and walked across the glass wall to where Fury was standing. The others gathered around the glass box and tried to figure out how the Hell she was doing that!

"Why would Old Mother tell you anything?" asked Midnight. Her face returned to its normal delicate shade of pale and her fangs pulled back.

"Because she needs our help with something" replied Fury. Midnight laughed a deep throaty chuckle that made the hairs stand up on all the necks in the room. She stepped down from the wall and leaned against the glass.

"She needs the help of humans? I find that hard to believe. With what, pray tell?"

"It's nearly Christmas, Midnight."

"I still don't see –"

"Santa Claus is stalking the town." Midnight snarled and muttered what was probably a very bad word under her breath.

"_S-o ia dracu de treaba_! I've dealt with him already" she snapped. Her eyes flashed yellow as the other took an involuntary step back.

"Yes, Linnea told me. He's been bought out of retirement by Whiteweb." Tony Stark looked ready to burst with questions but Bruce Banner clapped a hand over his mouth and shook his head. Midnight took a deep breath she didn't really need, turned to face Fury and raised that famous eyebrow.

"I'm on vacation, Director Fury. This is not my city and Redcap is not my Court." Fury raised his eyebrow and looked a little incredulous.

"You're going to deny Old Mother?" Midnight smiled, it was cold and full of scorn.

"I've done it before, _scurt timp_ and I will do it again" snapped the vampire. Fury frowned, he wondered what the old creature had called him but he didn't quite dare to ask. He pushed a button on the console and a glass slide aside, Midnight stepped out onto the walkway.

"Then you're free to go. Thank you for your time" said Fury. Midnight made it all the way along the metal walk and down the steps before Stark almost exploded.

"What the Hell is going on?" he almost shrieked.

"That's what I'd like to know." The answering voice was female; the tone was almost melodic and kind of sing song. Three figures emerged from the shadows and Midnight cursed herself for automatically straightening her spine. The female looked about eight and she wore a yellow sun dress with red dolly shoes, her golden hair hung in tight curls and she was holding a ragged bunny toy in her right arm.

"Hello Linnea" said Midnight. The girl smiled, it didn't quite reach her eyes but that was normal. This particular little girl hadn't shown a real smile in almost four hundred years. Linnea was the Liderul of The Redcap Court and she was not a girl to mess with. Her justice was swift and always brutal, she did not rule with an iron fist but with a sharpened dagger. Midnight was immediately on her guard, her face changing to reveal nothing of what she felt or thought. With Linnea, that was the best way.

"Hello Midnight. I've been waiting for you to come and see me ever since you came to town. That would have been the polite thing to do" said Linnea. She turned to the hulking vampire on her left; he picked her up and placed her on the nearest table so that she could speak to Midnight eye to eye.

"I wasn't planning on staying, Linnea. I was just passing through when your lackeys snatched me from the street. I am not the _Călău _anymore, I am Liderul of The Blackwing Court. I am the oldest vampire in existence and I will not bow to you" said Midnight. Linnea narrowed her eyes and her two bodyguards took a menacing step forward. From the corner of her eye, Midnight saw Hawkeye reach for an arrow and the Black Widow removed her gun. Linnea held up a hand and the two vampires backed off.

"I had a vision, Midnight. A vision of the end of days and you need to know about it."  
"So tell me" snapped Midnight.

"Not unless you agree to help." Midnight snarled, her hands clenched into fists and she had to remind herself that this was precisely what the little bitch wanted.

"Then I'll be going." Midnight spun on her very high heels and stalked towards the door, the Avengers scattered to get out of her way. When Linnea spoke again her voice was low and full of sorrow.

"Throttle will die." Midnight stopped, she turned very slowly and snarled again.

"Why should I care?"

"Because you love him" replied Linnea. Midnight looked at Natasha Romanov and smiled a little.

"Love is for children." There was silence as the two ancient creatures glared at each other across the space of centuries. Midnight refused to drop her gaze but she nodded once and Fury led the way to the nearest meeting room.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

When they were in the elevator, Steve Rogers glanced at Midnight from the corner of his eye and cleared his throat. She turned to look up at him and raised her eyebrow.

"Who's Throttle?" he asked. There was silence as everyone waited for an answer but tried not to look as if they were waiting for an answer. Midnight smiled and turned her eyes back to the doors as they opened.

"He's a seven foot tall Martian mouse with tan coloured fur and muscles that even Dr Banner's green friend would be envious of." Banner stifled a laugh while Stark stared at her open mouthed, Steve shifted a little and looked uncomfortable.

"You could have just told me to mind my own business" he muttered. Midnight laughed as she stepped from the elevator and into the meeting room to see some very familiar figures waiting for her. The Avengers gathered in the doorway and gaped at the Martian mice lounging in the meeting room. Midnight strode across the room and laughed again as Genevieve Palk almost jumped into her arms. Midnight grasped the girl by her upper arms and looked at her, the child was growing so fast! Midnight didn't suppose she'd be able to call Gen a child for much longer. Gen wore a deep red sweater and indigo jeans, black trainers and the collar of a white shirt was just visible. Her deep black hair now had a fringe and hung to her shoulders, bright green eyes stared at Midnight with something like trepidation in them.

Midnight was surprised, she looked at the others and found they all had the same look. Apparently they had been as nervous of this reunion as she had been. Midnight touched Gen's face and kissed her forehead. The girl smiled and her eyes were so bright Midnight almost shaded her eyes. The vampire turned to Charley Davidson, the older woman was Gen's godmother and was obviously still recovering from some very bad blows in the last few months. Luckily, she had her white furred hero to help keep her upright. Vinnie grinned and his faceplate glinted as it caught the light, he slapped her on the back and immediately started complaining that they had missed all the fun.

Modo, the largest of the Biker Mice, smiled and held out his robotic arm. Midnight shook his hand and endured a stiff hug from his nephew, Rimfire.

"We missed you, ma'am" he said. Midnight felt a strange lump in her throat but dismissed it. She really had been hanging out with breathers for far too long.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"Gen had bad feeling. We got here too late to help with the invasion but Gen still had that feeling, we figured it must be something else and went looking for you" explained Modo. Midnight waited a few seconds before turning to the last mouse in the room. He was exactly as Midnight had described him to Steve; the field specs were still perched on his snout. For the first time in many years, Midnight felt a cold tendril of fear creep into what was left of her heart. It was her fault Carbine was dead and she wouldn't be surprised if Throttle hated her for it. The tan mouse lowered his specs, his bionic eyes seeming to look into what little soul she had left.

And then he smiled.

"Everything alright, babe?" His voice was a husky drawl, so low that nobody else would hear. Midnight raised her eyebrow and shrugged.

"I'll live." Throttle chuckled, his tail wrapped around her waist and settled into her shape as if it had always been there.

Fury took a moment to drag Stark to one side and calm him down about the whole Martian and Vampire thing before inviting everyone to take a seat around the table. Banner was the first to speak, apparently taking the whole weird situation in his stride.

"Somebody mentioned Santa?" he asked. Natasha poured herself a glass of water before letting her head drop back.

"You must know about Santa, Doc. He brings presents for the good kiddies and coal for the bad ones, flying reindeer etcetera."

"That's a myth" said Midnight. Stark appeared to have recovered some of his equilibrium.

"We know that, Queen of the Damned. Most of us find that out when we're kids."

"No, I mean it's a myth that he's a myth." Gen looked up, her green eyes wide and surprised.

"You mean there's really a Santa Claus?" She sounded just like a happy six year old but Rimfire and the other mice looked thoroughly confused. Gen turned and began to explain Santa and Christmas to them while Midnight turned back to Stark.

"Yes he's real. But he doesn't bring gifts. He skins the children and eats them." The silence that followed was so complete Midnight couldn't even hear the living breathing. Charley cleared her throat and moved closer to Vinnie, his tail snaked around her left thigh.

"I think I prefer the version I grew with" she muttered.

"Blackwing drove him into another dimension, a void with nothing but himself inside" explained Linnea. Her eyes swirled and became almost black as she remembered those days, a small girl watching the world burn with her ancient Court.

"The magic of the Tesseract weakened the walls of reality and allowed him to slip back into our world. Whiteweb is using him to replenish their numbers after The Blood Countess failed to bring you down" continued Linnea. She looked at Midnight with something like respect on her face and the ice blonde vampire raised her eyebrow in response.

"Sorry to interrupt but what's a Blackwing? Or a Whiteweb?" asked Steve. Midnight gave a tiny smile as she noticed he had actually raised his hand before speaking. Humans were so easily trained in their youth.

"They are the names of two Vampire Courts. My Court is Blackwing, the oldest in existence and Linnea's Court is Redcap. Whiteweb is a very young Court, full of murderers and thieves and creatures that had no choice about being thrown into this Hell" said Midnight. Her voice had grown colder with each word until Throttle's tail tightened around her waist, the vampire instantly calmed and crossed her legs.

"And again, I'm sorry I asked" mumbled Steve.

"If this Santa guy is mostly for kids, is that who they're recruiting? The kids?" growled Modo. His good eye glowed red and he suddenly looked like a grey Hulk.

"No, he eats their skin and then Whiteweb recruits their parents" said Linnea. She looked sad but it was hard to tell whether it was for the danger to her Court or the dead children.

"They've taken about twenty people so far but that's only the ones we know of."

"They must be getting desperate which makes them even more dangerous" replied Midnight.

"What can we do?" asked Banner. Midnight turned her back to the group and stared out of the large windows.

"It's not your fight."

"Never stopped us before" cried Stark. Midnight looked at Fury and nodded; the director straightened and looked around the room.

"What are we looking for?" he snapped. Linnea was lifted into a chair, her stuffed toy hanging from a small hand.

"It'll be a large cemetery, close to a blood bank" she said. Fury turned to Captain Rogers and began to bark orders about reconnaissance but Throttle interrupted them.

"We have our own way of dealing with these creeps. We just roll in and let them know we're here."

"My kinda plan!" cried Vinnie, swinging a leg over his red racer. All three mice revved their engines and Natasha raised her eyebrows.

"Are they always this impulsive?" she asked Charley. The auburn haired mechanic laughed as Vinnie lifted her onto his bike with his tail.

"We wouldn't have them any other way!"

"That's why we love them" added Gen, she jumped on behind Rimfire. Banner winced at the noise from the engines and shouted above the racket.

"Shouldn't we have a plan?"

"We have a plan!" rumbled Modo.

"Let's rock . . . _**and ride!"**_ They drove out of the meeting room and towards the edge of the carrier, the Avengers gasped as they vanished over the edge with only a fading "AOOOOOOW!" to follow. Midnight allowed a smile to fly across her face before turning to Old Mother; the girl tilted her head and looked enquiringly at Midnight.

"Does he die here?"

"No. When this is dealt with, I'll tell you everything" replied Linnea. Midnight raised an eyebrow and growled. She bowed to the others and then she was gone, as were Linnea and her bodyguards.

"I think my brain just exploded! Vampires and Martians? You're not gonna tell me the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are really living in our sewers, right?" asked Stark. He actually sounded on the edge of a breakdown but as much as Fury wanted to mess with him, there were more important things to do.

"Not very trusting are they?" said Barton, checking his bow and quiver.

"Steve and Natasha see if you can find a cemetery near a blood bank and check for any strange activity. Stark and Banner see if you can find where this Santa clown came into our dimension and I wanna know if anything else followed him. Barton, you follow Midnight and those mice. Be careful" said Fury. The Avengers went their separate ways, leaving Fury to stare out at the darkening sky and wondered when the sleighing would start.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

Natasha peered around Steve as his bike weaved through the traffic, the bikes the mice had were a lot faster and Steve was struggling to keep them in view. Luckily, the amount of noise the white mouse was making definately made it a bit easier.

"Not exactly incognito are they?" said Steve. He chuckled as their quarry split up but one bike sat by the curb, idling. The girl Gen and the youngest mouse grinned at the two Avengers as they pulled up alongside.

"Next time you follow an empath, you might want to try blocking your feelings. I could feel you two coming a mile off" she said, flicking her black fringe from her eyes. Natasha smiled in a way that reminded Rimfire of Midnight; he shivered and looked down at the crumpled paper Steve was holding out to him. It looked like a map of the city with two red circles marked in pen.

"There're only two cemeteries in the area that meet your search criteria. We thought it would be best to divide and conquer?" asked Steve. He felt a little silly talking to a giant mouse almost as if he were asking permission. Rimfire looked over his shoulder at Gen, both shook their heads.

"Sorry, bro. We've dealt with these vamps before. It might take a little longer but it's definitely safety in numbers with these guys" said Rimfire. Steve bristled a little at taking orders from someone who was obviously not much older then seventeen. But Natasha's hand on his arm changed his mind.

"Alright. Which do you think we should check first?" she asked. Gen peered through her helmet and tapped the circle that was closest to their current location.

"We'll try here first and then go to the other." Natasha folded up the map and slipped it into an inside pocket. Steve turned back into the stream of traffic towards Collier Avenue and Rimfire followed. Natasha and Gen checked on the gates to the cemetery while Rimfire and Steve went into the blood bank.

The woman behind the desk was a huge fan of Captain America apparently. As soon as they walked in she blushed to the roots of her hair and giggled like a school girl despite being on the far side of fifty. Rimfire melted into the background and grinned inside his helmet as Steve tried to ask his questions and the woman, her name badge read Irma, kept shoving slips of paper at him for autographs. About five minutes later, having signed everything and managed to escape, Steve and Rimfire met up with Natasha and Gen at the bikes.

"What's so funny?" asked Gen. Rimfire's giggles had been barely contained as he climbed onto the bike. Steve swatted his helmet and they pulled back into the traffic. They reached the second cemetery in about thirty minutes. The chain on the gate was lying on the ground, there were a few crypts inside but they were too far away to read the names on them. They parked their bikes while Natasha drew her weapon and led the way inside. As they neared the first crypt the name REDCAP became clearer and there were a few familiar faces outside it.

"We're definitely in the right place" muttered Gen. She spotted the twins, Mia and Fleur, straight away. Mia had deep purple hair tied in high pigtails, a chocolate coloured peasant top and a chequered burnt orange skirt. Her eyes were pink, switching to deep cerise when blue flames licked around her fingers. Fleur had black hair pulled into intricate curls and swirls on top of her head; she wore a long sleeved navy top and an ankle length blue skirt. Her eyes were a light blue, but they switched to the colour of the sea after a storm when she used her bi-location power. Both sisters were over three hundred years old and totally insane.

Natasha raised her weapon but another familiar face shoved her sideways. Drake had once been a member of Blackwing but he had turned traitor and joined Whiteweb. He snarled at them, his black eyes flashing as his fangs extended. His dark hair hung over his right eye and there was mud and grease on his black tee and blue jeans. Natasha rolled and jumped to her feet, raising the weapon again to point directly into the vampire's face. Drake looked at the gun and then grinned at Natasha.

"That won't kill me, you know" he said. Natasha smiled and Gen was pleased to see the smirk falter on Drake's face.

"Oh I know. But it'll mess up that pretty quiff you've got going on there" replied the assassin. Rimfire's bike suddenly roared up, lasers popped out and pointed at Drake.

"What are you doing here?" demanded Gen. Drake raised his hands and took a step back. Mia cackled from behind them.

"Thinning out the competition" she said. There was a deafening explosion as the Redcap crypt disintegrated and the ground shook. A large piece of concrete flew sideways, slicing Gen's cheek and catching Natasha on her temple. The red head went down, the gun flying from her hand to vanish into the gaping hole that used to belong to the Redcap Court. Drake scooped her up and vanished into the dust. Steve and Rimfire tried to follow but Mia, Fleur and several vampires they didn't recognize suddenly appeared. Gen felt a hand trying to grab her arm, she kicked out with her leg and connected with something solid. She jumped to her feet and took off after Natasha.

/

Tony Stark and Bruce Banner caught up with Charley and Vinnie at Stark Tower. The white mouse looked up at the building and shivered, his tail tightened a little around Charley's waist.

"What's wrong, Mickey? Too much style for you?" asked Stark. He clapped the mouse on the shoulder; it seemed to bring him back to the present. The ever cocky grin was in place when the shield on his helmet pulled back.

"Looks a little close to Limburger Tower to me. We destroy that ugly thing on a daily basis, right sweetheart?" He turned to Charley and the mechanic laughed. She explained about the Plutarkians but both Stark and Banner seemed pretty sure that New York was Fish Alien free. Stark looked up at his tower and laughed.

"Next time I take a vacation I might pay you a visit in Chicago. Sounds like it could be fun!" the billionaire cried.

"If you can keep up, old man" yelled Vinnie. He gunned his engine and proceeded to ride up the side of the building to the roof. They were waiting when the two scientists stepped out of the elevator. Charley laughed as Vinnie tried to explain the more technical details of how his bike had managed a vertical climb while Bruce Banner made a few adjustments to the equipment in the lab. Charley peered over his shoulder as he began scanning for unusual radiation or strange activity.

"Dr Banner, I believe there is something you should see on screen six" said a polite voice from overhead.

"Um . . . Who's that?" asked Charley.

"That's Jarvis. He makes more sense than Tony" said Bruce, turning to screen six. It was a CCTV view of the skyline, the sun was just going down but something else was coming up.

"Oh my God" said Bruce. Charley gasped as what looked like a sleigh being pulled by reindeer crossed the dying sun. The sleigh was black with strange silver markings all over it and the reindeer were red with antlers that seemed sharpened to vicious points. Stark looked as if his brain might explode, the scientist was having a rough day.

"Holy shit. They were telling the truth" he breathed.

"I do that quite a lot and yet nobody ever believes me." They spun around to see Midnight framed in the open window, her coat billowing around her legs.

"Where are the others?" asked Charley.

"Rimfire and Genevieve have run into a little trouble at the cemetery. I came to summon reinforcements" said Midnight. She walked across the room and growled at the screen as the sleigh passed another camera. The others jumped as Vinnie pumped his fist in the air and let loose his war cry.

"AAAOOOOOOWWWWW! Then let's go whip some tail!" He turned the bike and vanished out of the open window. Midnight raised an eyebrow and leaned against the table, Charley smirked as Vinnie rolled back into the room.

"Um . . . Where is it?" he asked. Midnight gave him the address.

"Need a ride?" asked Charley. The vampire strolled back to the open window.

"_Multumesc_ Charley but I can make my own way." She was gone.

"Better suit up big man" said Stark. They followed Midnight's lead and headed to where the smoke was rising in the distance.

/

Before Midnight had gone to fetch the cavalry, she had been with Hawkeye, Throttle and Modo trying to figure out where to start looking for the fat man in the sleigh.

"We need quiet areas or large parks. Places where he can feed random hikers or homeless people to his reindeer without anyone coming along" said Midnight. Hawkeye grimaced and shook out his bow.

"I knew there was a reason I hated Christmas" he muttered. They were just crossing the street towards a park when an explosion in the distance made them turn. Midnight grabbed her head and dropped to her knees as Gen screamed in her mind. She snarled and jumped back onto her feet.

"Change of plan,_ baieti_. Whiteweb have blown up the crypt of the Redcap Court, Drake has Natasha, Rimfire is down and the good Captain is trying to follow Genevieve who has decided to go after Natasha" said Midnight. It was times like this she was glad she didn't have to take a breath in the middle of a sentence. She told the men to go ahead and that she would go for Vinnie and Charley. Midnight jumped onto the roof of the nearest building and vanished in the general direction of Stark Tower. She moved so fast she almost seemed to be flying.

"Wow" said Clint.

"Yeah" said Throttle and Modo. They climbed back on their bikes and headed towards the explosion which seemed to be in the centre of a large cemetery. Through the rolling smoke they could see Steve grappling with Mia and Fleur, the twin vampires seemed confused. Apparently they didn't know the Captain was a super soldier and that was why he was able to keep them at bay. Throttle couldn't help his smile when he saw Gen clinging to Drake's back, pounding on his head with her fists while Natasha suddenly woke up in his arms and broke his nose.

"Here we go again!" said Modo. He raised his arm cannon while Throttle charged up his Knuke Knucks, they gunned their engines and rode into the middle of the fight. Hawkeye jumped from the back of Modo's bike, he pulled an arrow from his quiver, rolled and fired at the nearest vampire. A blue pulse of energy whizzed past the archer's face and knocked Drake from his feet, Gen and Natasha were thrown aside but they got up so they were pretty much okay. A voice shrieked above the din and everyone stopped. Linnea was standing on top of the remains of her crypt, her hands in the air.

"Why can't we all work together? Something is coming that's bigger then all of us -" But Mother Redcap was interrupted. A man with ebony skin, bright green eyes and chocolate coloured hair glided from the gathering shadows. He was tall and slender and wore black trousers and a white shirt with a golden waistcoat, a black cape was draped over his shoulders.

"That better not be Dracula" said Stark over his comm link. Midnight stood behind Linnea as Edgar moved towards them.

"I came to offer you a place in Whiteweb, Linnea" he said. The little girl stared for a moment before bursting into the kind of laughter that should never come from a child.

"_Nu sa ne retragem, Edgar. Esti prea tanar pentru mine_" snarled the girl.

_No thank you, Edgar. You're not my type._

Midnight smiled, but it froze on her face when the sound of bells suddenly filled the half silence. She growled and shoved Linnea behind her, all faces turned towards the night sky. Edgar laughed and flung his arms out like a conjurer.

"Allow me to introduce you to my new partner." The sleigh skidded to a halt as the reindeer snarled and beat the ground with their sharpened hooves.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

The man climbing out of the sleigh was huge; he would tower over Modo easily. He wasn't round like Santa was supposed to be but heavily muscled, white hair flowed down the back of his blood red suit. He swung himself over the edge of the sleigh and landed with a heavy thump on the ground. He reached into the sleigh and picked up what looked like a couple of dolls. Midnight heard more than one person present gag as they realized the dolls were the skinned bodies of two children, Santa threw them to the ground as if they were nothing.

Modo's eye glowed red as he looked down at the tiny bodies and Throttle had to hold him back before the big fella could move forward again. A vampire with spikey green hair jumped out of the sleigh and handed four unconscious grown-ups out to Mia and Fleur. Santa turned back to the assembled crowd, his coal black eyes locking onto Midnight. He smiled.

"Good evening" he said. There was no trace of fear for the vampire that had banished him to another dimension. Midnight allowed her eyes to snap from gold to yellow, her fangs extended and the ground trembled as she reached out to the elements.

"I got rid of you once before,_ bătrân_. I can do it again" she snarled. Santa laughed and his whole body seemed to ripple.

"How exactly do you plan on doing that, my dear? The dimensional rifts have closed and opening them again will destroy the very fabric of the universe" he replied. Midnight's lips lifted into a feral grin.

"I said get rid of, not banish."

"You banished me because you couldn't kill me, remember? That small fact hasn't changed in two hundred years!" All eyes turned upwards as Stark roared overhead.

"That was then, pal. This is now!" He fired on the giant and Santa was rocked back against his sleigh. The others took this as a signal and waded forward into battle once more.

Stark remained in the sky and decided to fire on anything with fangs. One blast whizzed past Midnight's head and almost set her hair on fire. Stark got a bit of a shock when she was suddenly hanging from his helmet and screaming curses at him in Romanian. Midnight dropped back to the ground, glared at him for a moment and jumped on the nearest bad guy. Stark shook himself and decided to be more careful about the fangs he was aiming at.

Captain America spotted vampires pouring from a large hole in the ground and wondered if they were good guys or more bad guys. Natasha was grabbed from behind by one but she twisted its arms, flipped him over her shoulder and rammed a wooden stake through its chest. Nodding to himself, Steve threw his shield at the incoming hoard and could only gape when Midnight landed on it and beheaded four vampires before it boomeranged back to him. More were coming and Steve found himself wishing for sharper edges on his shield.

Hawkeye managed to scramble onto the nearest crypt, he fired arrows with exploding tips into vampires that ran at him and just hoped they weren't part of Midnight's crew. A hand suddenly snaked around his neck and he was yanked off his feet and slammed onto the roof of the crypt. Mia and Fleur smiled down at him.

"Shall we do lunch, sister?" asked Mia. Fleur smiled and bared her fangs.

"He'll give you indigestion" said a voice. Midnight's arm swung down in an arc, the wooden stake she held slammed through Fleur's chest and into her heart. She exploded in a puff of dust and there was a moment of shocked silence. Mia looked up at Midnight and snarled. Blue flames erupted from her entire body as she lunged for the creature that had murdered her sister. Hawkeye fired another arrow on Mia but it missed her heart, the tip exploded and she screeched. Mia threw herself from the crypt and into the arms of Edgar; they hurried away into the crowd. Midnight turned her attention to the dust pile that had once been Fleur.

"_Repaus uşor odată prietenul meu. Calea este clar pentru tine acum_" she said.

_Rest easy my once friend. The path is clear for you now. _

Across the way, Natasha had holstered her weapon and picked up a piece of wood from the grass. She plunged it into the chest of anything with fangs that got too close. Hawkeye suddenly landed at her feet from where Mia had thrown him. Natasha looked down at him and smiled.

"Just like Budapest, huh?" she said. Hawkeye frowned and jumped to his feet.

"Did I sleep through Budapest?" They turned and fought back to back.

Rimfire and Gen slashed through a small group of vampires and started making their way towards the larger group.

"Can I ask you something?" said Rimfire. He swung a vicious right hook that left a blonde vampire unconscious on the grass.

"Is now really the time?" replied Gen. She picked up a log and swung it at the head of a grey haired vampire that looked a little like her grandma.

"Will you marry me?" Gen stopped and stared at him, open mouthed. A vampire slashed her arm, ripping the material of her sweater. Gen looked down at the blood seeping through the hole and then up at the vampire who was still snarling at her.

"Son of a bitch. I love this sweater and you ruined it!" she screamed. The vampire suddenly went stiff as a board and then his head exploded. Rimfire and Gen stared as the dust swirled in the breeze.

"I didn't know I could do that!" cried Gen. She looked at Rimfire before turning back to the advancing vampires. "This just got way more interesting." She clenched her fists and glared at the vampires as one by one their heads exploded.

"Remind me not to piss you off" muttered Rimfire.

Throttle and Modo were both thrown from their bikes at the same moment, the ground seemed to give an almighty heave and they flew sideways. Before they could get up the reindeer from the sleigh were upon them. They had red noses, black eyes and very sharp teeth that snapped at their necks and ears. One sank its teeth into Modo's flesh arm, he roared in pain and Throttle pounded on the beast with his Knuke Knucks until it let go. A sudden familiar cry filled the air and the reindeers were pulled back by a large net.

"AAAOOOWWWW! Can't let my bros have all the fun without me!" cried Vinnie. A huge and booming laugh made everyone turn. Santa was leaning against his sleigh and laughing as if he'd never seen anything so funny in his life.

"Is that the best you can do?" he cried. Midnight smiled and leaned against the nearest headstone.

"Green always was my favourite colour" she said. Santa looked confused for a moment until the Hulk slammed into the ground behind him. The green giant raised a huge fist and pounded Santa until he was nothing more than a bloody smoosh on the grass. The Hulk raised his head and Midnight smiled, bowed and pointed at the other vampires. Hulk smiled, roared and bounded towards them.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Once Bruce Banner had calmed down enough for the Hulk to vanish back to wherever it was he went to, they scraped Santa off the grass and headed back to Stark Tower. SHEILD took charge of the remains and the reindeer and Sleigh were removed to a safe location. Midnight stood in the window of the top floor and watched the sun go down; she listened to the conversations behind her as everybody said their goodbyes. A small hand slid into hers and Midnight looked down at Linnea.

"Whiteweb have lost another battle, _regina mea_" the child said. Midnight sighed.

"They also lost Fleur. Mia will be more dangerous than ever and probably more psychotic then she was before."

"You're sorry" said Linnea. It wasn't a question and Midnight nodded.

"I thought I'd left all this behind, Old Mother. But Fleur . . . I always thought she might be saved and join us in Blackwing again."

"Not everyone can be saved, _regina mea._ Those of us they call Ancient must come to accept that." Linnea squeezed Midnight's hand and they both turned as Director Fury approached them.

"Thank you for your help" he said. Midnight nodded, she and Linnea moved away from the group and walked around the edge of the room.

"Something's coming, Midnight. It's bigger than any of the Courts, bigger then the Biker Mice and bigger then the Avengers. The whole universe may be at stake" said Linnea. Midnight stopped and looked down into her worried eyes.

"Tell me." The child turned back to the window where storm clouds were gathering in the sky, flashes of lightening were just visible through the growing darkness.

"This isn't something I saw myself. But all the Seers in Redcap have been having the same dreams and the dreams have begun to seep into their waking minds."

"Old Mother, tell me!" said Midnight. Her voice was more desperate then she would have liked.

"They gave me two words that may help you save the universe. They saw him too. They saw The Oncoming Storm." Midnight started and allowed herself to be pulled down so that Linnea could whisper in her ear.

/

Once the goodbyes were said, the Biker Mice and friends headed back through New York and then on home to Chicago. They arrived back at The Last Chance Garage and went inside. Charley decided to order as much pizza as they could handle and then they were all going to bed. Midnight took off her leather duster and boots before seating herself in a soft armchair and rubbing her temples.

"Headache, babe?" asked Throttle. He sank onto the arm of the chair and placed a cool hand on the back of her neck. Midnight smiled and shook her head.

"I don't get headaches, _dragostea mea_. I feel a little as if my mind is going to collapse though."

"What did she tell you?" he asked, lowering his voice. Midnight watched the people she supposed were now her friends. Gen and Rimfire were setting up the table while Modo and Vinnie were wrestling on the floor; Charley was rooting through her purse for money to give to the pizza delivery man. Midnight didn't want anything to happen to them but she had a nasty feeling someone would fall in their next battle.

"She told me two words. Two words that could save the universe" replied Midnight. Throttle frowned.

"What two words?" Midnight looked up at him and Throttle gasped, there was real fear in the vampire's face as she spoke.

"Bad Wolf."

**THE END**


End file.
